Inside and Out
by Evangelion 5.0
Summary: A two part series of the journey of one man on the run. He is despised by society for what misfortune he brings with him. He is hated for what he must become, a truth that cannot be changed by anyone, not even himself. He is alone in this trek of justice, and with little resources at his disposal, and the world against him, will he succeed?
1. Prologue

He couldn't stop running, it was out of the question to _even_ think about stopping, for if he stopped at all, _it would_ mean certain death.

He couldn't die now, as he had found out about something that would shake the nation, to the possibility of war breaking out between the regions, in a fight to obtain the sacred object that could give them power of something far greater than any legendary pokemon in existance.

If this secret was to be found out, all hell would break loose.

He kept on running. The dogs kept barking. The sound of them was not too far in the distance, despite the wuthering winds blowing in the air, distorting any sound emitted from anything, from the crackling leaves of the October trees to the footsteps of the man running for his life.

It was _inevitable_. This secret was his to keep. The lives of the people of Kanto, and perhaps the entire world, depended on it. A hill appeared, if he could run fast enough, he could be out of sight by the time the grunts and their dogs got to the hill. And if he could do just that, he'd, hopefully, be in the clear, free to get away, safe for another day.

His belt, which had only three pokeballs attached to it, were left alone. For where he was going, there wouldn't be a pokemon center for miles, and he wanted to save their strength. He was at the top of the hill, this was his chance to make his escape.

He ran like hell, like a man on fire, like he was running from a madman with a chainsaw in the middle of nowhere. The barking ceased, but the man didn't know if it was because of the gusty winds or if he actually got away. He kept on running.

Even if he got away, he was sure the bastards would send more than two grunts and their mangy mutts to try and actually kill him. The man was now running into the forest, maybe he could find shelter here for a short time to pass the time until the men and their dogs were called off for the night.

After running for god knows how, he was out of the forest, his legs aching from his long trek of what he called "_The walk between heaven and hell._"

He was now on a path, and the sun had finally gone down. _How long_ was he running and how long was he forced from his peaceful home?

A hour? Maybe only a few minutes? Possibly a day!

Houses rose over the horizon of the path, and with that sight, the man just began to casually walk toward one that had lights on.

"For the love of god, after all I've been through, this house better not have a gun-toting jackass ready to shoot me up just because I look like some deranged freak who escaped from an asylum..." The man wished.

He knocked on the door, wheezing lightly.

He was obviously exhausted, maybe the person who lives here, if they let him in, will let him stay for the night?

A young woman opened the door, curiously looking at the man in front of her, who had sweat covering his face, sliding down into his shirt, which was drenched by a mixture of water, sweat, and blood.

"Why is this man covered in blood? What happened to cause this man to appear like this?" The woman thought to herself.

The man simply asked: "Please. Help me, I can't carry myself much longer..."

Before the young woman could even react, the man before her collapsed, breathing heavily. He needed help and he needed it fast.

"Sir, are you alright? Please, do get up!" The woman pleaded to the unconcious man, before going to get help from whoever was in the house that night...

* * *

In the man's subconsious, he knew the secret he now had the burden of keeping, was safe.

He was sure he could trust the woman, that is if she didn't leave him in the streets.

"Those sons of bitches, they _will_ pay for their crimes, and by god as my witness, when I get my hands on you, don't expect to come out alive. If I find you, you will feel my wrath."

They would feel his wrath alright. They'd get what was coming to them soon enough. Every single one of them. One by one.

_Inside and Out._


	2. Inside

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "Inside and Out" and now, I hope you enjoy the next... Don't forget to review!- Evangelion 5.0 (Thanks for Reading!)

* * *

He had awoke not long after the long chase from which he ended with a lucky run up a steep hill and a quick run into a forest.

He was now cleaned up, the blood and sweat which occupied his tanned skin was no longer present and his dirt-covered shirt alongside the black leather jacket he wore was replaced with a white cotton shirt and blue jeans. The aching in his legs and the sharp throbs in his head had been too much for him, he had to awake or the pain would just be far too much to withstand.

His brown eyes fluttered open to the view of the white ceiling, with a slowly-moving fan above him, the light dimmed down as to be not to bright, but bright enough to see in the dark. The door slowly creaked open. The young woman from earlier came through the opening, and walked to the bed, and in surprise, noticed her unexpected guest had awakened.

"Oh! You're finally up? How are you this morning?" She asked kindly.

The woman was of average height for her age. She had dark brown hair, which hung to her shoulders. When the man looked her in the eyes, he could see they were the same as his.

The man's throat was dry, he tried to speak as best as he could before asking for a drink of water. "I'm doing alright. You?" He dryly replied. "Good." "Excuse me, not to be a bother, but can I please have a glass of water?" He requested. "Sure. By the way, my father needs to talk to you later and afterwards, if you feel you're able to, you can leave." The woman relayed. As she walked out of the room, the man attempted to ask her what her name was.

"W-wait! Not to be disrespectful, but what is your name? I feel it's best that I know the name of the person who saved my life." He said. She caught what he had said, and stuck her head through the opening of the door, her face with a faint blush that was barely visible.

"My name is Veronica. What is yours?" The man replied.

"My name is A-" The man couldn't reveal his name to some stranger. Yes, she had potentially saved his life, but it would do her good if she didn't know who he was. "My name is Ikhnaton." This was the first name the man could think of. Would she believe him?

"I was traveling from Pallet to a nearby town, not far from here when I got attacked by a group of men and their Pokemon. I'm afraid to say, but I found out something I wasn't supposed to. And for that, they felt that killing me was the price to pay for finding out a vital secret of theirs."

"W-who would do such a thing? That's terrible!" Veronica said.

"Most definitely. It's madness." Ikhnaton replied.

Veronica had no words to say, but nodded in acknoledgement and left the room.

An old man soon after approached Ikhnaton in the guest room.

"So young man, how exactly did you end up here in this small, empty town? And do not give me the excuse you just told my daughter just a minute ago." "But, that is how it happened." "Really? D, If I were to find out this is some sick joke, you'll be sure to get one hell of a beating!" "I am not lying to you at all. You want to know how I ended up like this? I'll gladly tell you, and afterwards, we'll see if you still feel like kicking my ass."

Ikhnaton began to tell the same story to the old man as he did with Veronica only minutes earlier.

By the time Ikhnaton finished, not much of the old man's expression had left his face, it was still quite stern.

"Well, your story is somewhat convincing." "Why exactly did those people try to kill you?"

"I can't say, and even if I did, you wouldn't believe me. I've only told one person and that person... they killed him." Ikhnaton grimaced at the memory of what he was told the day after the incident.

"I'm sorry about your friend." The old man said.

"There's no need to apologize." Ikhnaton replied.

"Well... I guess that's a good reason to keep your secret to yourself then." The old man lamented.

"Indeed." Ikhnaton agreed.

Silence took over the room.

"So... when do you think you'll be leaving?" The old man jokingly chuckled, hoping to lighten up the mood.

"Not long from now." Ikhnaton responded.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay here last night, even if it was not in my intent to pass out on your doorstep." Ikhnaton smiled.

"No problem, not at all." The old man chuckled.

* * *

Ikhnaton sat on the bed, ready to leave. It was now late in the afternoon and planned to be out before dawn.

He had a small notebook out and was writing in it:

_My name is Ash Ketchum. I was born in Pallet of Kanto. At the time of this writing, I am twenty years old. _

_Currently, I am on the run from three criminal organizations (Rocket, Plasma, and Universal)_

_In order to keep my identity a secret, I've adopted the name of "Ikhnaton", former Pharoah of Egypt during the latter part of the Eighteenth Dynasty._

_I've found out something that could change the world and most likely get every scumbag in those three organizations behind bars._

_But, there's a problem...if this secret was to be found out, it would be cause an all-out war between many regions, including my region of Kanto._

_I promised myself to keep everything in the book a secret. _

_May the gods guide me in my perilous journey. _

Ash closed the journal and got up from the bed.

It was time to go.

* * *

Ash would prepare to leave by noon, and afterwards, would plan to travel to Unova, hopefully without being seen by the agents of Plasma. If he succeeded, he would begin his journey.

This in turn would hopefully plant the seeds of his newfound plan of justice.

Along with that, he would hand out his revenge to those who did him wrong.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Omake from the journal: #1: _

_His name was Samuel Oak. He was the local pokemon professor in Pallet, and in a way, was like a father to me._

_They sent a large group of grunts and while he was working in the lab near his home, they came in and killed him. Slowly._

_First, they tortured him, stab wounds and all. God knows how painful it was._

_Next, they snuffed all the life out of him. Then, they stole all the pokemon they could find, luckily which didn't include mine._

_Last, but not least, and what a grand way to pour a ton of salt on the open wound, what do they do? They** burn the lab **and his home down._

_They literally robbed him of all of his useful possessions, murdered him and destroyed his property. All in the middle of the night with no-one to catch them._

_This is one of the many reasons I shall wreak my revenge onto those who deserve it. _

_If I find the people who did this to Samuel, they will not make it out alive. I guarantee it._

* * *

Thank you for reading and don't forget to review, I'd appreciate it!

Evangelion 5.0


	3. The Night Watch

Ash walked for what seemed only a few hours. It was a quiet walk throughout the late afternoon into the evening. The wavering cries of the Noctowls filled the night air, their red eyes hidden in the tall trees alongside the path, watching for their prey.

It was quite lonesome out here in the dark...

Ash debated to himself whether to bring out at least Raichu for company. What if someone was watching him in the trees like the Noctowl were watching for food? What if he attracted attention just because of Raichu. Would it be a problem to do so? He stopped walking.

He took a minute to look around the walking path and the trees around him. Nothing but the Noctowls. Just them. He turned around and continued to walk, giving a sigh of relief along the way. He'd be fine for the time being...

The walk to Unova continued for another two hours, those would be the longest two hours of his life.

The moon was a milky white, its glow illuminating everything around it; it was the only source of natural light for the next four hours on this fall night of October.

Ash decided to bring Raichu out; he couldn't stand being alone no longer, he wanted, no, he _needed_ company. He looked at the faded red and white pokeball. It was nearly a decade old. Raichu dreaded this object, as it symbolized pokemon being bound to one and only one person, to be used as a personal little plaything. Ash learned of Raichu's defiance the very day he met the (then) yellow rat who would soon become his closest friend and ally.

Ash looked at the dull yellow thunderbolt sticker on the pokeball, and pressed the button, and with just a flash, Raichu was out of the pokeball. He knew what had to be done in order to keep Ash unoticed by those who wanted him dead. And yes, Raichu still hates the pokeball with a passion like no other.

The orange rat stretched its short paws and yawned, trying to wake itself up from what was a quite long sleep. He looked toward Ash and gave an affirmative "Rai" and the duo were now on their way to their destination.

* * *

The walk was finally over, and with the Pokemon Center finally in sight, Ash and Raichu speeded their pace up a notch in anticipation of rest.

Ash and Raichu entered through the door of the center, to the greeting of the local Nurse Joy.

"Hello there, would you like me to heal your pokemon?"

"No thank you, I just need a room for the night." Ash said.

"Alright then, here is your room key. Have a good night." Joy responded to Ash as he nodded and took the room key.

He turned around and headed up the staircase to his room, Raichu by his side.

"Room 2-5" (Floor 2; Room 5) Ash mumbled as he looked for the door decal that would list his room number.

He found the door, and turned the key in the lock, an audible click signifying his entry.

As he began to walk into the room, a dark figure slowly creeped near the corner in the hallway, patiently watching Ash quietly.

Ash quickly turned around, suspecting someone watching him.

* * *

Its eyes of red gazed at Ash for a moment before hiding behind the corner. He sighed in relief. He was nearly found by his target.

The door closed and clicked shut. The figure was now visible. It was in dark clothing to decrease the possibility of being seen in the dark.

It walked to the door. Room 2-5. It proposed opening the door, clutching the doorknob with a tight grip. The grip soon released. That'd be a bad way to try and kill an important target...

* * *

Ash got a plate out for Raichu for the night, deciding to leave him out for the hell of it. It wasn't like someone was going to _break_ into the room this late at night...right? He began to consider if he was paranoid.

He turned on the television, and prepared for the end of the night. He took a quick shower to rid himself of the day's sweat and dirt. He got dressed and made himself a sandwich and with that, he climbed onto the bed and slipped into the sheets, the fluorescent light of the television glimmering in the room. His eyes slid closed. _Sleep._

* * *

The figure stood out the door. It noticed the door was locked. If it flat out kicked the door down, it was a surefire way of getting noticed. There was nothing but one way to open the door now. A credit card? _Ha! _That rarely works!

The figure held out its palm and with a flash came a screwdriver. It knelt down on the floor and removed the tab of the knob, the screws now in view.

It began to turn the screws around, trying to be stealthy as possible. The first came out.

It moved on to the next one. It began to wonder why exactly did the Pokemon Center always put screws on the knobs when not necessary? It wasn't like someone would try to break in... oh wait...

While it lamented the odd doorknobs of the Pokemon Center, the second and last screw fell to the floor. A hole remained.

The hole was the lock to the door. The screwdriver was the key.

It entered the screwdriver into the hole, slowly turned the knob... a click.

* * *

_A_ click. That is what Ash heard as he awoke. He got up from the bed. Raichu slept in the corner, unaware of what would happen.

Ash looked at Raichu.

"Well, I guess this will be hand to hand then..."

The door opened.

* * *

The figure pushed the door open.

The door creaked open, it was dark inside with a faint murmurs of a television.

He stepped foot inside. He was ready. He wasn't sure about his target.

* * *

Dull yellow light appeared from the side of the door, creaking open. A foot leaned inbetween the cresent of the door.

Light breathing...faint noises...floorboard creaking...

Awaiting the enemy...

Tension... Expectation...

A face reared its head in...

* * *

To be continued... (Don't forget to review!)


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